Toothsayer
by Rikkoshaye
Summary: A young Tauren Hunter journeys into the depths of Tirisfal in search of rare game, but quickly discovers that there is more then bats and darkhounds roaming in the rotting forest...
1. Chapter 1

Toothsayer sat behind a large rotting tree, ears perked forward and tail strung back. His muscles were held taught as he crouched, cold and uncomfortable, mud and grass licking at his knees. He knew that one false move, one misplaced step would betray his presence. So he sat, silent and watchful, eyes peering into the depths of the forest.

_ Where is he?_ Tooth thought impatiently. He had seen the creature a few days before, a spot of white against the murky forest backdrop. Lifting his head Tooth sniffed, and then sniffed again, but it was of no use. The smell of rot and darkhound was too strong here; he couldn't pick out the thin scent of bat from the overpowering dankness. So he sat, crouched down into the grasses, waiting for his prey to reveal itself.

Toothsayer had picked an ideal hunting spot. Though he was a large animal in his own right, the forests of Tirisfal were an unusual breed compared to the hot sands of the Barrens. Huge trees, decrepit and rotting, rose up above the scrubby underbrush, their twisted roots digging deep into the moist ground below. Stealing away between one of these large pines and a rocky outcropping, Tooth had been able to hide himself from even the darkhounds, whose keen noses sniffed upwind. After that the waiting game had begun; tracking rare creatures was never an easy task. And though Tooth was still young in his quest to be a hunter, he knew that this may be his first big hunt. Curling his tail around himself Tooth eyed the darkness, eyes flitting from one tree to another. Still nothing.

But wait, what was that?

There was movement there, Tooth knew that he had seen it! The blood that had been so cold within him a moment ago was now on fire, burning as his heart pumped the thick liquid through his veins. His eyes pierced the darkness, staring as hard as he could into the branches of the trees. Where was it? He had seen it! Not daring to move a muscle he sat, puffing shallow, short breaths.

There, movement again! Tooth felt the adrenaline shoot through him as he got his first good look at the white creature. He had heard tales of the albino bat from the undead that lived nearby, but he never really believed them until he had spied that white wingspan so many weeks ago. He had tracked it, waited for it, and scoured the entire area over and over without catching another glimpse! But today he knew was his day.

The white bat emerged from the darkness, flittering down among the tree trunks. Toothsayer stood extremely still, watching as the creature spread its wings taught and glided down towards the mossy undergrowth. It looked so out of place; a creature so alive in a place that reeked of death. Tooth knew that he would only get one chance; making a beast that was so rare your personal companion was no easy task. But Tooth had waited many rainy days for this moment, and he was not going to mess it up.

It was then that he heard the screech.

Loud and piercing, it was a sound unlike anything Tooth had heard before. Jerking upwards he stumbled out of his hiding spot, the sound disorienting him and confusing him. Smells and sounds blended together; what was happening? What was going on? A similar scream echoed out from another direction and Tooth swung his head around, hands clasped firmly over his ears. It took a moment before he could focus enough to see what was going on, but when he did shock pierced him.

The white bat was being attacked! Another beast, fast and small, had rocketed out of nowhere! Its mouth was open, salivating, eyes wide with fear; Tooth felt his vision closing in on the beast, its black fur bleeding into its deep red membranes. Another bat? Tooth shook his head and snorted. It was another bat! Another bat was attacking his prize! He took a step forward, but the world spun around him. What was this noise? What was happening!? Tooth opened his mouth and snarled, shaking his burly jowls and squaring his shoulders.

"Stop!" he yelled, his voice thick and grizzled. "STOP!" With this the animals turned their small beady eyes to him, claws locked together, wings tangled and beating against each other. The white beast tried to pull back and flee, but the black bat screeched and held on, fluttering fruitlessly before dragging them both to the ground. Toothsayer, whose head was finally clearing, took another step forward towards the grounded duo. Bowing down on his knee he placed his hands forward, eyes trained on the white bat. He knew he would only have one chance. He knew that if this was to be his companion, he had to do it now. They stood, staring at each other, frozen in place. The white creature looking at him, and him staring at it. Something was welling up within him, and he could see it in the bat's eyes too; was it happiness? Curiosity? Something else? Tooth leaned forward, his hand inching closer and closer to the panting monster's hide. Only a few more seconds and he'd have it, only a few more moments-

The black bat slammed into the white beast!

"No!" Tooth yelled, his voice gruff and pained. The white bat was struggling now, snarling and angry, canines thrusting forward to find purchase on the other bat's neck. Pushing himself up to his hooves Tooth snatched his axe from his belt and stepped forward.

"Get out of here, pest!" he snarled, eyes trained on the black beast. But as he whipped him axe downward, all he hit was dirt! "Fast bastard!" he screamed, tail snapping behind him. His eyes swished to and fro, looking for the monster. But where had it gone? He looked across the ground but there was nothing there; his eyes streaked up along the tree line but again he saw nothing.

"You couldn't have just disappeared!" Tooth yelled, ripping his weapon up from the earth. The white bat struggled and Tooth thrust his hand down to pin it, but it curled out of the way. Tooth was angry now; too angry. Snorting he lunged at the white bat, but he knew it was too late. There was fear in its eyes, and hate; he would never be able to tame it now. That black monstrosity had killed his chance, it had ruined his only hope! Toothsayer's hands hit the dirt hard, and the albino bat leaped into the air. But before it could escape Tooth saw a rustle; just the slightest of movements in the leaves above. The white bat squeaked, seeming to pause in mid-air. And then Tooth watched, in horror, as the black bat from before rocketed out of the trees and sunk its claws directly into the white bat's eyes.

It was over faster then Tooth could imagine. The life drained from the albino bat in one quick moment; its wings, which a moment before were taught and full of life, crumpled into limp nothingness. The beast tumbled to the ground, smacking with a dull thud into the wet mossy undergrowth. Tooth stared at it, dumbstruck, as the soft beating of the black bat's wings filled his ears.

Toothsayer didn't quite remember what happened after that. The air was cold and wet; the trees loomed above him as the lifeless body of the bat sat soiled beneath him. His weapon swung, his hands found the earth, and covering it all was that soft, wet sound of rhythmic, beating wings.

- - - - -

It was raining when Tooth awoke. Thick wet drops hit against his face, falling heavily against his snout and dripping down through his fur. He felt sore and troubled; Tooth's stomach was rumbling uncomfortably against his guts and one small turn alerted him to the mud that was nestled in all the wrong places. He felt weak and drained, and his mouth felt sore; casting his eyes upward he saw little more then shadows of shadows. It was night in Tirisfal Glades; a dangerous place to be for a Tauren like himself. This was the time when the darkhounds gathered into bloodthirsty packs, scouring the soil for any living being that was weak or alone. This was the time when the banshees filtered through the treetops, their unearthly eyes scouring for troubled and lost souls.

"I need to get back home," Tooth said to himself. He knew if he was found by one or two monsters he could hold his own, but an entire pack or more? As sore as he felt he knew he couldn't risk it. Taking a deep breath Toothsayer pushed himself to stand. But as he raised his head from the ground, he found his vision being filled with two small, glowing, beady eyes.

"Graagh!" Tooth yelled, stumbling backwards. Instinctively he covered his face with his hands, regaining his balance and falling into a defensive position. Sniffing the air he caught the strong scent of bat, and his eyes quickly found the two glowing points in the darkness. They didn't recede or grow closer; they just sat, trained on him, two orbs in a sea of black. "Get away from me bat," Tooth snarled. His hand reached down to his side but grasped nothing; his weapon must have been lost sometime earlier. But as his eyes adjusted more and more to the night, Tooth began to notice something peculiar. Even though he was backing away from the beast it did not make a move to attack, nor did it try to escape. It just sat, patiently and calmly, curled upside down on some unseen tree branch overhead.

"Something isn't right here," Tooth remarked. Monsters were intelligent beings, striking when they had the advantage and fleeing when they felt they could escape. They never just sat and did nothing at all! The hackles on Tooth's neck bristled. Sweeping his head to the right and the left Tooth looked for some sign of civilization. But all he saw was blackness, and the thin outline of the bat who continued to gaze directly at him. Tooth sat for a moment, the cool night air tickling at his elbows and knees. Something just wasn't right, he could feel it in his bones. He needed to get out of here, he needed to flee! Turning tail on the glowing beady eyes Tooth ran blindly through the darkness, fear clutching at his belly like a cold, clammy hand.

All he heard above the thick pattering of rain was the soft, quiet sound of wings beating in the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

It was morning in Tirisfal Glades, and Toothsayer was lost. The darkest part of the night had finally passed, with the howls of the darkhounds and yips from the gnolls slowly fading into the distance. Though Tooth had thought he had ran in the right direction, the gnarled branches and rotting trunks had all blended together until he truly had no idea where he was. Tooth had spent the rest of the night wandering through the cold underbrush, too afraid to stop but too exhausted to continue running. And now, finally, it was daybreak. The fog that greeted the sun every morning was especially thick today; it licked and curled around the muddied shadows of trees and made it hard for Tooth to see much of anything. But he did notice the gentle lightening of the sky, and soon his eyes were able to pick up shapes and a dull smattering of color. Sniffing the air Tooth smelled nothing but earth, rot, and dew. And though he did not want to admit he was lost, the tauren was too tired to reject a few moments of rest on a nearby rock.

"What a failure last night was," Toothsayer remarked. His voice didn't make it much past the wall of fog, but he figured that was for the best. Sighing Tooth traced his finger across the rock he was sitting on. "That bat was one in a million; creatures like him are the reason why I'm living in this rotting, infested area in the first place!" Tooth snuffed, and then turned his head. "Though the Barrens are worse," he admitted. "I never did like that dry, hot weather." Toothsayer let out a long, low sigh and rolled his shoulders backward. It seemed utterly ridiculous for a moment, talking to himself in the middle of a foggy, rotting place. But the silence was stinging his ears and his mood was low, so he pushed the uncomfortable thought aside and continued.

"That bat," Tooth snarled darkly in the back of his throat. He had never seen such a thing; a species attacking its own kind so viciously like that. Bats were not territorial, Tooth knew that much. In fact they often lived together, clustering in caves or trees or fluttering over a darkhound kill. "It must have been rabid," he rumbled, but even as the words left his mouth he knew wasn't true. There was no foam coming from its mouth, no whites of the eyes, no disoriented flapping. That bat had been swift and deadly. Tooth knew that the albino had little chance against such aimed bites, and the reality of it caused the anger to kindle again in his chest. He had spent _weeks_ chasing that beast, tracking it, following it, waiting for it... for nothing! He did everything right and still the Earth Mother had it against him; it was only her who could cause a bat to act so strangely. Tooth raised his head to the skies and bellowed, slamming his fists against the rock he was sitting on. "How worthless," he breathed. "Pet-less and trophy-less, thwarted by a small, measly bat." Tooth felt the rage quell in the depths of his chest and he sat there, motionless, skin still damp from the night of running and rain.

Something, not too far in the distance, howled.

Tooth's head snapped up and he sniffed at the air. His nostrils were still full of the rot of this place and nothing more, but as a second howl joined the first he felt the hackles on the back of his neck bristle. "Stupid," he scolded himself, remembering his scream at the sky. "Just because I can't smell them doesn't mean they're not still around." As much as Toothsayer hated the barrens, he hated those little darkhound mutts more. They were no bigger then some royal lord's pet, but their bite was infested with bacteria and they were better at killing then carnivores twice their size. The worst of it all was that they hunted in packs, and every tracker knows that six noses are better then one. While dodging one of the little monsters was easy, a whole squad of them was near impossible unless you were upwind. There had been a breeze yesterday, but today the winds were dead, and Tooth knew those little bastards had heard him clear as day. Rising to his feet he grasped at his side, and then remembered his axe was gone. Tooth swore venomously.

"I'll have to lose them," he muttered. No use mentioning that he had no idea where he was or where he was going; he had to try either way. Picking up a brisk walk he moved into the mists, away from where he thought he had heard the darkhounds. "At least it is wet," he remarked. His hooves squished into the soppy ground, mud kicking up onto his already dirtied fur. Tooth felt crusty and tired; he hadn't gotten any sleep all night and it was beginning to wear on him. Another howl sounded and it was closer this time, and Tooth knew he had no time to rest. Pushing himself into a trot he moved blindly through the forest, hoping he was heading towards civilization and not towards death.

The trees appeared out of the misty forest and melted back away; though the sun had obviously risen the fog stayed just as thick as ever. The pines, Tooth noted, were becoming more rotted as he moved on, and some had even fallen over and became a sloppy, disgusting pile of filth on the ground. It was obvious by this point that Tooth was going the wrong way; in fact, he deduced, he had probably been going the wrong way for quite some time now. The howls had faded, or more precisely they had stopped altogether. "It is daylight," Tooth puffed to himself. "darkhounds usually sleep during these times." _Unless they find a morning meal_, Tooth's mind piped up, but he silenced the thought as quickly as it came. The howls had not come for a long time now, and the wet ground surely had muddied away his scent. The ache in his muscles was just too much, and reluctantly Tooth slowed to a stop. The Tauren looked around, trying to find a place to rest. He would be able to think much clearer once he had taken a nap, or so his body told him.

He didn't even smell them before they struck.

There was one, loud bark, and then they were upon him, their yips and snarls burying the sounds of his surprised grunt. Before Tooth knew it the darkhounds were latched onto him, biting hard into his flank and his legs. He caught the look of one, bursting out of the fog and rocketing toward him, right before it leapt from the spongy earth and sunk its claws into his stomach. Toothsayer roared in pain; he could feel teeth gnawing into him, and he shook with ferocity. His right hand caught one of them in the snout and yanked; the teeth came free but clamped onto his fingers instead. The other hand swatted at the darkhound on his stomach, but it was wick deep and going deeper and the pain wracked through him. There must have been six of them, or seven; he was on the ground now, wet and bloody and full of mud. A single screaming thought –_ they're going to eat me alive! _- sped through his brain, but then it was gone too, swatted away by the feeling of teeth and pain and death.

_SCREEEEEEE!_

Just when Toothsayer thought he couldn't get any more disoriented the screech came, knocking what little senses he had left completely out of him. The pain laced through his guts, deep and throbbing, and at that moment there was nothing else, no sound, no sight, no nothing. But then, just as quickly as it came it left again, and he realized that the teeth and claws had left him as well, the last small legs fleeing at top speed into the fog in front of him.

It had all happened so quickly; no more then a minute had passed he was sure. Still, Toothsayer didn't dare move. The pain was great and terrible, and he was very wet and tired. He didn't care why the mutts left, he didn't even care if they were coming back, all he cared about was the intense, white-hot agony that was concentrated all over his lower body. It took him a long time before he was able to get up, or at least it felt like a long time. Slowly he placed an elbow underneath himself and hoisted his head into the air, looking back at his body through the mud in his eyes.

The bat stared back at him.

Toothsayer grunted and tried to move away, but he had no strength and collapsed. So this is why they left, Tooth realized; the bat had driven them away. It wanted this meal all to itself, Tooth understood it all now. "Then do it," the tauren muttered, barely louder then a whisper. "You did it. You killed the albino, you scared away the dogs, and now you have me." Tooth coughed. "If you're going to eat me, just do it."

The bat did not move; it didn't even blink. It just sat there beside his legs, looking wet and uncomfortable, claws nestled firmly into the wet dirt, wings half unfurled. "What are you waiting for?" Tooth asked, almost desperately. "Either kill me or leave me, don't you get it!?" At this the bat moved its ears towards him, its black beady eyes staring straight into his. Tooth stared back, blinking back mud, and at that moment he realized how truly ugly of a creature this bat was. Its nose was flipped up in strange, wet folds, with tiny black eyes and big, ribbed ears. Its fur was matted and caked with muck, and Tooth saw a portion of its head was missing fur altogether, ripped away and leaving gnarled pink skin in its place.

Opening its wings fully, the bat pushed itself up into the air and flapped to the nearest hanging branch. "Fine then," Toothsayer muttered, more surprised then he let himself express. "Earth Mother, I don't know what game you're playing, but if you're going to have the same monster that killed the albino save my life, then I guess I have no choice."

It took more effort then Tooth wanted to admit, but he grunted into a sitting position and began to tend to his wounds. They weren't as bad as they felt, he saw that right away; the darhounds hadn't had much time to dig deeply into his skin. But wounds were still wounds, and he had a lot of them. What Tooth was most worried about was infection; darkhound bites are notorious for festering if not cleaned quickly. Using his shirt to mop up the blood from his fur, he turned and saw the bat still hanging on the nearby branch.

"If you're going to just sit there," Toothsayer said horsely, "then find me some fresh water. I need to clean these cuts." The bat just looked at him for a moment. And then, to the tauren's dismay, it opened its wings and drifted off into the fog. "Oh, so now you leave me!" he snarled at it. "You chase off those mutts and then leave me to die!" Toothsayer continued mopping at his burning wounds, now more irritated then ever. "Well, maybe he was just leaving to get some water." Tooth doubted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth, however.

The deepest wound was by far the one on his lower stomach. That hound had gotten a good grip and had ripped some of the flesh free, sinking its disgusting maw straight into his muscle. The bloody wound continued to burn far after the others had calmed, and Tooth could almost feel the infection spreading. "I need to get back to town," he said weakly, but he knew he was much too tired to find his way out now. Sliding himself up next to a fallen, rotted tree he leaned his head against the driest part of bark he could find. Tooth knew the darkhounds would probably be back, either that or gnolls. But he was dead either way; either starvation and dehydration would get him, or the dogs would find him again and finish what they started. "What an embarrassing death for a hunter," Tooth mused as he was drifting off. "Dead before he has even tamed a pet." He sighed and thought back to his grandfather. "I guess you were right; I'm not cut out for this kind of thing." Though Tooth knew if he had his axe, things would have been different.

Slowly the world around him began to fade and Tooth, exhausted, gave in to the blackness. The rotting trees swayed above him as a breeze rolled in and the fog, finally, was blown away.


End file.
